Twenty-one

  After a thorough wash and change into the clean clothes prepared by You Lao Si, Yan Wei suddenly felt refreshed and comfortable all over, which was vastly different from his state before. The intense battles and marches of recent days had left this seasoned iron-blooded soldier utterly exhausted! All he wanted to do now was find a quiet bed and sleep soundly. But as the highest military officer of this troop, Yan Wei knew that he didn't have the freedom to do so yet.

  Wu Han tightly followed the target, Hua Yuan, and also lived with Yan Wei in You Lao Si's house. Outside the courtyard, personnel from both sides took turns standing guard, while the rest of the personnel were arranged by You Lao Si to stay in nearby villagers' homes.

  As soon as Yan Wei walked out of the inner room, he saw Wu Han Hui already sitting at a square wooden table in the main hall waiting to have dinner with Yan Wei.

  It's clear that this village isn't poor, as a big bowl of steaming buns is placed on the table. Although there's no meat, fresh vegetables are plentiful, and dish after dish has been served.

  "Brother Yongxi, just eat first, why wait for me?" Yan Wei looked at the table full of dishes and his appetite was already greatly stimulated, so he said as he sat down in front of the table.

  Wu Hanhua said to Yan Wei while smoking, "Let's call Miss Fang over for dinner too. Along the way, if it weren't for this woman, a large group of children would be difficult for us to handle." After that, he ordered the guard to invite Fang Lan.

  Yan Wei knew Wu Han was giving him face, so he just smiled and didn't decline anymore.

  At this time, Old Fourth Yu sidled in through the doorway, holding two cups with his left hand and a large wine jug with his right, followed by a fairly neat-looking woman carrying a big bowl of stir-fried eggs. She seemed to be Old Fourth Yu's wife.

  "I'm afraid we've made a poor impression on the two officials. We're just a humble village, not comparable to those big towns and estates. Given the urgency of the situation, this is all I could manage for now. I've instructed the villagers to quickly slaughter pigs and chickens. Since you gentlemen must be exhausted from traveling all day, please make do with this meal for now. Tonight, I'll host a grand feast for your entire army! This is my wife," he said, pointing to the woman beside him. "She's just a simple countrywoman who hasn't seen much of the world. She's honored to meet you two officials." He then turned to his wife and said, "Quickly, put down what you're doing and go out!"

  Yan Wei then smiled at You Lao Si's family and said: "This time, I'm afraid we've been a bit too presumptuous and caused you trouble. Would you please ask your wife to bring over some more cups, plates, and chopsticks? We'd like to have a drink with Village Head You."

  Yao Lao Si's family looked at him with embarrassment after hearing Yan Wei, and Yao Lao Si also smiled awkwardly at his wife, saying: "The officer is giving us face, asking about our well-being! Tell you to quickly go get another cup for drinking."

  Yu Lao Si's family listened and then bowed and smiled as they retreated. Yu Lao Si hurriedly pushed back, saying: "A humble person like me, how dare I share a table with the two officials? It's better for me to wait outside."

  Wu Han saw that Old Man Liu had already instructed his wife to go and fetch the wine cups, but still said this, so he knew that Old Man Liu was also a worldly person who had mixed with society, not an ordinary rustic villager who was illiterate and ignorant. He stretched out his right hand and gently pressed down on a chair that had been placed beside him, saying: "Village Head Liu needn't be polite, the guest is not deceiving the host, please join me in a drink, I have many questions to ask you, and also Colorful Seat has some questions for you."

  "Wow, you say that this good fortune has been accumulated by our ancestors for several generations. Today, I can actually share a table and drink with two National Army commanders!" You Lao Si saw Wu Han Hui invite him to sit down, so he also sat down on the chair.

  Yan Wei looked at You Lao Si and smiled: "Village Chief You, how did you know that both of us are military commanders of this country?"

  "This was just said by Officer Wu a moment ago!" You Lao Si replied while busying himself pouring wine for the two, without looking at Yan Wei.

  Yan Wei glanced at Wu Hanhuai with his eyes and said, "Then how did you know he was also the captain?"

  "Oh, this one, didn't Wu's military uniform have a rank insignia on the collar just now?" He then felt it wasn't quite right and hastily added: "Oh, it's the same as the rank insignia on Zhao Tengxiang's military uniform in our Tianmen County."

  Yan Wei looked at him with a questioning gaze, and Wu Hanhuai seemed nonchalant, saying: "Oh, I'm not very familiar with the troops below either, they should be under the 75th Army." As he spoke, he pulled out his own sidearm and handed it to You Lao Si, saying: "Take a look at this good stuff, you probably haven't seen anything like it before. It's definitely better than that Zhao Tuan Zhang guy you mentioned."

  As soon as he pulled out the pistol, Lao Si stared at him with his eyes fixed on him, and Wu Han also stared at Lao Si to see if he could find anything.

  "American goods, good stuff!" Old Fourth said, and then he couldn't help but take the "Colt 1911" from Wu Han's hand, holding it in his right hand, and with his left hand, he instinctively tried to pull back the slide to chamber a round. But in an instant, he immediately put the gun on the table, looking at Wu Han as he pushed it back to him. At the same time, his eyes gazed at the table, and he didn't say another word.

  Wu Han looked at Yan Wei, who also had a plan in mind, and put away his gun while looking at You Lao Si: "You Lao Si, do you know what I do?"

  The little rascal's face turned pale and he said: "I don't know, sir! Please scold me!"

  "Do you know about the Revival Society?"

  Lao Si heard this and slowly raised his head, looking at Wu Hanhuai: "I said so, always feeling that Director Wu and his subordinates are not much different from our National Revolutionary Army regular army, it turns out that Director Wu is a member of the Revival Society."

  "The Revival Society is long gone, now merged and reorganized into the Military Bureau. Since you know about the Revival Society, you're not an ordinary person. So, tell me, what kind of person are you? Huh, you understand military ranks, and firearms, and can even recognize that this is American goods in my hand! What's a rustic village husband like you doing with such abilities? You old rascal, Wu Lao Si, your vision is extraordinary!" As he spoke, Wu Han Hui's eyes habitually revealed his professional characteristics.

  Yan Wei looked at the stir-fried bean sprouts in front of him and said slowly, "Old You, it's not that complicated. Wu is an intelligence officer, so don't mind his questions. My brother and I have important missions for the party and country. As you've seen, we can't afford to make any mistakes with all these children around! We suspect you're not just a ordinary farmer because of your extraordinary insight and articulate speech. But you're definitely not Japanese, that's for sure! Even if the sky falls, it wouldn't matter! However, it would be best if you could explain yourself clearly to us. If not, I'm starving right now, looking at this table full of food, but I won't have time to eat, what a torture!"

  Lao Si let out a sigh and said, "As soon as I saw you two, I knew you were absolutely different from those useless people in the county town! You two are superior beings! Just talking about how we can follow the villagers who go out to pick herbs in the morning and sneak into the village without alarming us, it's not that simple!"

  He said, then stared at the table and didn't speak. After a while, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Yan Wei and Wu Hanhuai: "The little man's real name is indeed called You Lao Si. In the early years, I was under the command of Sun Chuanfang, the commander-in-chief of the straight system. In the 17th year of the Republic of China, the chairman of the committee joined forces with Yan Changguan and Feng Changguan to launch a general attack on Commander-in-Chief Sun. At that time, I was the battalion commander of Chen Diaoyuan's subordinate under the command of Commander-in-Chief Sun. At that time, the chairman's allied army had already won a decisive victory, and our Commander-in-Chief Sun had long since crossed the Yellow River and fled north! But our superiors instructed us to hold our ground and not retreat one step! My battalion commander even took out his pistol and pointed it at the back of my head, ordering me to lead my remaining less than 60 men in a single company to charge again!"

  Saying that, he looked at Yan Wei and Wu Hanhui and said: "Director Wu may not be very familiar with the special agents, but Director Yan is a commander who has led troops in battle. You tell me, what would have been the outcome if I had led a company that was already severely depleted to charge forward against an army of over a thousand men with high morale?"

  Yan Wei nodded and said, "Forcing soldiers to fight on the battlefield would indeed make them resentful! According to what you just said, if you had really followed orders and led your remaining troops in a charge at that time..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

  "So you disobeyed orders on the battlefield back then and led your subordinates in a collective surrender?"

  Lao Liu nodded and said: "Yes, it was a defeat, but before that, one of our regimental commanders had his head shot through!"

  Yan Wei smiled and said, "What happened later?"

  Later on? At that time, we surrendered to the 19th Division of Ji Hongchang's unit under the command of Northwest Army General Feng Changlong, which was under the jurisdiction of the Second Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army. On the night after being captured, I single-handedly took out two guards and escaped by climbing over the wall!

  "So you've got a case on your back, and you don't dare to mess around in the army anymore, so you escaped back to this old home to enjoy peace?" Wu Han saw that You Lao Si's background had nothing to do with his current mission, and he also relaxed instantly, looking at You Lao Si with a smile.

  "I figured it out back then, I'm not doing anything with anyone! After all those years of following the big officials and fighting, what's the point? Not selling out! Whoever I sell my life to won't get anything good out of it, and losing my head is always a possibility! Who becomes emperor isn't my concern, whoever has power I'll just pay taxes to them! The glory and wealth that comes with being in power has nothing to do with me, I'm done, completely done! Now that the two officials have forced me to speak out, if you think I should go back to the military court for trial and punishment, then I have nothing more to say!"

  Yan smiled and said, "Stop calling me 'sir' all the time. You, brother, were already a battalion commander in the regular army since 1928. At that time..." He turned to Wu Hanhuai with a smile and asked, "Swimming Creek brother, what were you doing that year?"

  Wu Hanhua smiled and said, "The 17th year of the Republic." After a brief recollection, he smiled again: "At that time, I was still following my old superior Fan Hanjie as a battalion clerk in the Zhejiang Garrison Brigade in Hangzhou!"

  Yan Wei smiled at You Lao Si and said, "Did you hear that? Brother Yong Xi was like that back then, let alone me! In the 17th year of the Republic of China, I was still a soldier in Zhang Ting's division in Fengtian. But you were already a company commander back then! At least a lieutenant, right?"

  "Captain!" Old Fourth laughed and said:

  Yan smiled and said, "That's right! If you hadn't betrayed the military back then, you'd probably be at least a colonel by now! Stop calling us superiors all the time, just use our titles. This is Wu Hanhuai, Deputy Director of the Party and Political Intelligence Department of our Military Intelligence Bureau."

  You Lao Si clasped his fists in a salute and slightly bowed to Wu Han Hui, which was considered a formal greeting. Then, facing Yan Wei again, he saluted and said: "Haven't asked for advice yet?"

  Yan smiled and said: "At your service, Commander of the 32nd Legion of the Central Military Commission, Colonel Yan Wei."

  Lao Si laughed and said, "Director Yan is still teasing me. If I were still in the army, at least I would be a senior colonel! Hehe! You two are both high-ranking officials from the Huangpu faction, while I followed General Sun's defeated troops like a landslide! What about not leaving back then? Not leaving is also nonsense!"

  Wu Hanhua looked at You Lao Si with a serious expression and said, "I'm telling you, Old You, what you just said about whoever becomes the emperor will be given tribute is not entirely wrong! But now that the Japanese have invaded, are you still thinking in the same old way?"

  Lao Si looked at Wu Hanhuai and said, "Director Wu, a true man doesn't speak falsely. Even if it were the Japanese army that came today instead of you two, I would still give them what they want! Can't pay taxes? Would I lead all the villagers, young and old, to fight to the death with the Japanese army? Fighting against Japan is your duty as a soldier! Now I'm just an ordinary citizen. The way for ordinary people to survive is to yield to those in power!"

  "I swear on my former military rank that as long as you are in our village, I will guarantee the safety of your entire troop! If you think I would betray you and inform the Japanese army, sacrificing our national soldiers and those poor children, I'd rather have my ancestors' graves dug up than do such a thing!" As he finished speaking, his right hand slammed heavily on the table, causing the bowls and plates to rattle loudly. The fine wine in the cups also splashed out.

  Seeing Old Four's emotions reach this point, Yan Wei suddenly understood that he still hadn't extinguished the heroic spirit of a soldier from back when the beacon fires lit up the sky! He felt greatly relieved in his heart, and then picked up his cup to drink it all in one gulp. Afterwards, he placed it on the table, smiling as he looked at Old Four without saying a word.

  Wu Han saw that his purpose had also been achieved! He learned from Yan Wei's example, but first took the wine jug in front of him and poured a drink into an empty bowl. After drinking it all in one gulp, he pushed his cup to Yu Laosan's face on the table and said: "Please, Brother Yu, drink this cup to the full, and after that, I, Wu Mou, guarantee you that your past crimes of killing your superior officer and surrendering with your troops will be completely wiped out! From now on, everything is forgiven and forgotten! It's as if nothing had ever happened! If in the future you still want to serve the party and country in the military, I, Wu Mou, will take care of it!"

  He, Lao Si, had committed such a serious crime back then. Although he escaped and hid in his hometown to avoid pursuit, he always felt that the murder of his superior and betrayal were forced upon him by circumstances. This led to his later killing and jailbreak, which was also related to his loss of face. For years, this matter weighed on his mind like a huge stone, unable to be lifted. Now, after hearing Wu Han's few words, it seemed that all his troubles had been cleared up! He didn't know if Wu Han was just comforting him with empty words or if he could really resolve everything for him. The wine cup was raised, but he couldn't bring himself to drink from it for a long time. He looked at Wu Han again and then turned back to Yan Wei, seemingly seeking confirmation of his doubts.

  Look at Old Four's antics, Yan Wei smiled and said: "If you say who is the most capable of stirring up trouble within our party today, it used to be the Investigation Department of the Party Organization! Now, heh heh! If there's something that Shui Xi and his Military Affairs Bureau can't handle, then I think we'll have to go see Chairman Mao himself!"

  After hearing Yan Wei's words, You Lao Si immediately drank it all in one gulp! Looking at Yan Wei and Wu Han Hui, he smiled and said: "It seems that the good wine stored in my house today is likely to be exhausted!"

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